15-pound pup survives attack by coyotes

Survivor dog

CALEDON EAST — Little Penny has bite marks and battle wounds on her back after a run-in with a pair of coyotes, but the 15-pound pup isn't hiding inside.
“Even when I got her home from the hospital today, she’s at the door,” said the little dog’s owner Jacquie Mallouk after the 5-year-old Shih Tzu cross spent two days at a local animal hospital. “She’d spend hours and hours outside.”
The attack happened on Jan. 24. After driving her daughter to school, Mallouk went outside again around 8:15 a.m. to look for the fluffy white dog.
Mallouk saw her dog being attacked.
“I saw a flurry of movement,” she said.
Her pet let out a yelp, she "heard snarling and I knew.”
The dog owner started the coyotes when she "charged through the woods screaming at the top of my lungs." That gave Penny a moment to escape. The little dog scampered away along the property fence line and onto the driveway. Penny had blood all over her neck and down her back from the bites she had sustained.
Luckily for Penny, the Mallouk’s had installed an electric fence on their Cranston Dr. property.
But, it wasn’t the fence that save sheer. It was the large, bulky collar for the electric fence that did the trick. The bulky collar prevented the coyotes from getting a hold of the dog's neck.
Penny was left with various bite marks on her body – mainly her neck and chin. But, she didn’t have any major wounds, such as damage to her windpipe or internal punctures.
Penny spent two days in the animal hospital. Mallouk's vet bill was just a little more than $750.
This wasn’t the first time Mallouk has seen coyotes in her backyard.
“I’d like to alert my neighbours,” she said. “Especially if they have small children.”
In the nearly 10 years her family has lived in Caledon East, Mallouk said this year has been the worst for coyote sightings. She estimates she's seen them at least three times a week for the past few weeks.
According to coyote biologists at the Ministry of Natural Resources, seeing more coyotes around this time of year is not uncommon. With the cold weather and the deep snow, coyotes need to actively seek out their food. Even during winter when there’s not much snow, food can still become sparse, says the biologists, which means more hunting — even during daylight hours.
While coyotes are typically scared of humans, they are still wild animals and should never be approached, the biologists warn.
If it ever becomes a safety concern, the ministry suggests contacting local police.